User experience (UX) is a critical success factor for all businesses, especially in B2B. It's becoming increasingly clear that companies prioritizing UX are seeing real results in increased revenue and brand loyalty.

If you're not convinced of the power of UX, consider this: a study by Forrester Research found that every $1 invested in UX brings $100 in return. Companies that prioritize user experience see revenue growth 4.6 times higher than those that don’t. 88% of people won’t return to a site if they had a bad experience. 46% of users say that a website’s design is the number one criterion for discerning the credibility of the company. We could go on.

If you’re not paying attention to UX, you’re basically leaving money on the table.

Defining UX and its goals

UX (user experience) is about creating user-friendly services and products. It’s centered around understanding people’s behavior and needs to create experiences that make them feel more connected, secure, and in control. Essentially, at the core of UX lies an ambition to design great user experiences - combining various aspects such as easy navigation, visual aesthetics, personal relevance, and interactivity. By focusing on the user’s motivations, goals, and experiences when employing usability in a product or service design, UX aims to promote efficiency, desirability, and overall satisfaction with their digital journey.

Why B2B businesses need to care about UX

As a business-to-business (B2B) organization, it’s easy to think a great user experience is irrelevant. After all, you aren’t trying to sell directly to end users. But the reality is that UX should be top-of-mind when it comes to any digital decision: Investing in UX can generate powerful rewards for your business: improved productivity, lower customer support costs, and faster sales cycles, higher close rates. It will position you ahead of the competition with a positive brand image that translates to improved prospect and user satisfaction resulting in a tangible return on investment.

Investing in UX allows B2B organizations to create strong, meaningful customer relationships. This can result in a more loyal customer base and even influence decisions within the sales cycle. Plus, it gives you valuable insights about your customers that you can use to create better experiences for them in the future.

How to improve the UX of your B2B website or product

Improving the user experience (UX) of your B2B website or product can seem daunting. But don’t worry — there are low-hanging fruit, easy wins, and sound strategies to make a difference efficiently. The best approach to improving UX is to start small and work your way up. Consider some of the following tactics:

  • Use scannable, descriptive labels, titles, and headings to make content easier to locate.
  • Run a quick-and-dirty testing session to see how real people experience your site. You’ll learn half of everything from each test (so you don’t need many tests!).
  • Make sure forms are easy to fill out with clear instructions, validation, and feedback on errors.
  • Improve website navigation and design by making it clear where users can find what they’re looking for.
  • Optimize page loading times by compressing images, improving server responsiveness, and utilizing caching techniques.
  • Analyze user behavior and preferences with tools like heat maps or A/B testing.
  • Create personalized experiences through data analysis and targeted content.

Investing in UX starts with user research. Identify and understand the needs of your product's users. That way you can create solutions that add value quickly by addressing their needs in a mindful manner. Gather feedback from current customers and look at it critically, taking into account what those customers say they want and what will actually work in a practical sense. And remember: low-hanging fruit and easy wins are key when it comes to making improvements that may appear insignificant yet have a huge impact on the overall user experience. Keep calm, think smart—you got this!

The importance of user research in B2B UX design

User research is one of the foundations of great B2B UX design. With wide-ranging benefits and the potential to increase usability, customer satisfaction, and even sales, it’s no wonder it’s such a boon to everything from sales (up 85%) to retention (up 25%), according to McKinsey & Company.

"Companies that invest in usability testing and user research see a return on investment (ROI) of $10 for every $1 spent"
‍Source

By understanding your users in-depth, you can shape your product strategy to provide a truly valuable customer experience. Understanding your users allows you to evaluate current designs and processes and inform further development, helping your organization succeed.

And remember: low-hanging fruit and easy wins are key when making improvements that may appear insignificant yet have a huge impact on the overall user experience. Keep calm, think smart—you got this!

Designing for different types of users in B2B contexts

Personas are an invaluable tool when it comes to designing for different types of users in a B2B context. Each persona represents a different segment of your audience with individual needs and preferences that should be met. As designers and developers, it's our responsibility to craft an experience tailored specifically to these personas, understanding their individual needs and ensuring those needs are met when crafting the overall user experience. With personas allowing us to effectively communicate the needs of each target audience, we can create interactions that each user will feel catered to on their terms, making for memorable experiences and ensuring customer satisfaction.

Good UX design can make a real difference for businesses. It can increase conversions, reduce support costs, and improve customer satisfaction. And when it comes to designing good UX for B2B contexts, user research is crucial. It’s important to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for B2B UX; different users and companies will have different needs and goals. But if you keep these things in mind, you’ll be well on your way to creating an amazing experience for all of your users. Need some help getting started? Our team would love to chat with you about how we can help bolster your UX efforts.